Hoenn Region, Rustboro City.
Located in the western part of Hoenn, Rustboro City lies next to teor Falls and serves as an essential comrcial hub for the region. The headquarters of the giant conglorate, Devon Corporation, is situated in Rustboro City.
Devon Corporation initially built its fortune in the energy sector. However, aside from energy, the gaming industry accounts for 25% of their financial reports. One of their flagship products, the gaming platform “ORAS”, enjoys a significant overseas market.
The platform's most downloaded ga is the real-ti virtual title “Pokémon: Battle.”
Each month, over a hundred new gas are launched on ORAS, but only a few beco hits. In August, a tower-defense ga surged into the platform's Top 10 New Gas chart.
Rustboro City Trainer School.
“Did you play the ga I sent you yesterday?”
“Ugh, my Sun Kernels keep getting eaten by Rattata!”
“Haha, you need to put Acorns in the front row, you blockhead!”
The bell rang, but a group of teenagers kept chatting excitedly about the ga.
“I brought my tablet—watch
play!” a boy’s eyes sparkled.
“Huh? But it’s Ms. Roxanne’s class…”
“It’s fine, as long as she doesn’t catch us!”
Just then, the door to the lecture hall opened, and a slender teacher entered. Her hair was tied into buns, with two red ribbons holding twin ponytails.
Roxanne, who still looked youthful, wore a flared skirt and pink stockings as she walked in with a stack of books.
After placing the textbooks on the lectern, she cleared her throat, “Today’s class is about handling and using Status Conditions...”
Suddenly, a shout ca from the students: “Protect or no Protect!”
“Teacher Lu says you just don’t have it!”
The class burst into laughter.
Roxanne paused, smiling awkwardly. “Is this so new ? I can’t seem to keep up with you all.”
The class monitor kindly explained, “It’s from a Bilibili (B Station) content creator who teaches battle tactics and team building!”
“That’s just an amateur then…” Roxanne muttered.
“Teacher, Lu has already taught us all about these Status Conditions!”
“His explanation of ‘Poison’ was more detailed than the textbook!”
Looking defeated, Roxanne sighed, “Alright, turn to page 36…”
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. She quickly walked up to two students whispering to each other and confiscated their tablet with a smug grin.
“Co to my office after class!” Roxanne declared triumphantly.
After all these years of teaching, she had finally caught soone!
The students turned pale. “But I just beat Dr. Squidking!”
“Teacher, let
finish this level!”
“Playing gas in class…” Roxanne grumbled, “No way, we’ll talk later!”
The bell rang. Back in her office, Roxanne inspected the confiscated tablet curiously.
“What ga is this?”
“Plants vs. Zombies!” a student replied. “It’s newly downloaded from ORAS!”
“It was only ??20!” another boy’s eyes glead. “Ms. Roxanne, you should try it too!”
Roxanne sneered, “I wouldn’t play such a boring tower-defense ga!”
Twenty minutes later…
“Ms. Roxanne, aren’t you going to class? It’s already ten minutes in,” a colleague reminded her.
“Let
just finish this level…”
Roxanne froze. “Wait, what? I’m late?!”
“I-I-I’m going now!”
In her rush, she forgot to save, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Can’t this ga pause?! Why is it so addictive?”
Similar scenes unfolded across Hoenn. Due to the popularity of ORAS, Plants vs. Zombies beca a surprise overseas hit.
One morning, Mr. Wattson from Mauville City called Lu Ye.
Wattson laughed heartily, “Lu Ye, can you send
a guide—or a cheat code?”
“You can’t ask the creator for cheat codes!”
“Haha, no problem. It’s just too fun. Had to let you know!”
The ga’s rapid success astonished Lu Ye.
Released on August 1st, it received a modest “New Release” recomndation. Yet, in just three days, Plants vs. Zombies broke into the Top 10 New Gas chart.
Priced at ??20 per copy, it sold over 5,000 copies in three days, with almost no marketing.
Boasting a 95% positive rating and glowing reviews from nearly ten ga critics, it achieved word-of-mouth success even major developers rarely saw.
“It’s hard to believe this was made by a small indie studio. The gaplay and polish deserve five stars!”
“As a fan of Teacher Lu, I bought the ga right away. I thought it was just a fun fan project, but it’s addictive! Five stars!”
“Pulled an all-nighter to beat Dr. Squidking. Still have to challenge a Gym tomorrow… so tired.”
“Teacher Lu makes gas too? And they’re this good? I’m jealous!”
“Told my mom I needed ??20 for a textbook. When she asked which one, I said it teaches Pokémon evolutions, abilities, type matchups, and moves… Yep, it’s Plants vs. Zombies!”
Seeing the flood of positive reviews and the backend data stream, Dayou grabbed Lu Ye’s hair excitedly. “Lu Ye, you’re famous!”
“Stop pulling,” Lu Ye said calmly.
With his system skills, he’d faithfully recreated the original ga’s essence, infused with Pokémon elents. Lu Ye was confident in his work.
“This is your success too,” Lu Ye smiled.
“I’m just a coder… Besides, we have a contract. It’s employnt, not a partnership,” Dayou shook his head.
He would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous.
But with his legal background and strong sense of justice, he knew his salary was fair.
Without Lu Ye’s creativity, Dayou knew he couldn’t have made such a hit ga.
“Just add my na to the studio credits!” Dayou grinned.
“No problem!”
“By the way, what’s our studio called?”
Lu Ye thought for a mont. Since it was a studio, he considered naming it “GaFreak.”
But eventually, it would beco a company…
ntioning Pokémon always brought to mind the gaming giant, Nintendo.
Without the foundation of the FC era, it was hard to make a plumber iconic.
Tactical RPGs weren’t a smart choice now.
And MOBAs were just starting to rise…
If he borrowed the future success of that one ga…
“Let’s call it Pokémon Studio,” Lu Ye said.
“Our gas will focus on Pokémon, so people who can’t capture real Pokémon can still experience their charm!”
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